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Watch Fall Out Boy Begin Life As A Scrappy Punk Band In 2002

By
Emily Swanson |

April 7, 2016

Image by Justin Stephens.

Regardless of your thoughts on Fall Out Boy’s recent (and more commercial) output, there was a time long ago – well before they saved rock’n’roll – when the four-piece were little more than a rough’n’ready DIY punk band doing the rounds of local youth centres in their hometown of Chicago.

The last billed band on a 16-band bill, the below footage shows a young Patrick Stump, Pete Wentz, Joe Trohman and Andy Hurley smashing through “Dead On Arrival” and “Reinventing The Wheel To Run Myself Over”, which would feature on their debut album (and certified pop-punk classic) Take This To Your Grave a mere six months later in May of 2003.

At the start of the video, a message reads: “On Saturday, November 16th, 2002 I filmed Fallout Boy playing the one and only Jim Grimes birthday show. The only pop-punk band amidst a sea of heckling hardcore kids and a handful of friends, months before the release of Take This To Your Grave. This full show has never been duplicated, copied or seen by anyone and for the past 10 years has been stored away in a shoebox in my mom’s basement. I am only releasing two songs. I am keeping the rest of the show as a memory. It goes back in the box.”

Also on the line-up was Rise Against, Every Time I Die, Unearth, Bleeding Through, and FOB bassist Pete Wentz’ former band, Arma Angelus, who played their final show that night.

Ultra fun fact: The Chris Gutierrez who filmed this video? He may be familiar to some of you as the “Hey Chris!” you’ve no doubt shouted along with whenever the band played “Grenade Jumper”live.

Excuse us while we blast Take This To Your Grave and From Under The Cork Tree back to back.